Lacrimosa
by ilupant
Summary: You had crossed the line of no return before you'd even known that it existed. In doing so, you've found yourself, a regular girl from 2019, stuck in Victorian-Era England. Surrounded by violence, manipulation, and deceit, you knew that you would have to abandon yourself to get back home; if at all possible anymore. (SebastianxReaderxCiel, mild yandere themes)
1. Prologue

Lacrimosa

_Prologue_

* * *

The rain pelted down unforgivingly. Every drop that landed upon your skin was like ice, all-encompassing, wrapping you in a cold that you had never before known. Your bare feet were numb, pressed together in a previous effort to hold onto rapidly escaping warmth. Even your clothes were completely soaked, sticking to your body like an extension of the rain that you could not escape from. It seemed to mirror the raging emotions that were swirling around inside of your body, holding you captive to their whispers of despair and deceit. You shivered, back pressed up against the rough bricks of the building behind you. With every large shudder, the ragged bricks would snag at the fraying threads of your dress, ruining it further.

The lights of the building you had run from were too far away to illuminate you, large windows filled with the flickering lights of candles within. They offered you no protection outside, yet you felt as if that was what you deserved. The light seemed to back away from your trembling form, not even daring to touch you. You were sure that even if the moonlight could penetrate through the thick rain clouds, it would come nowhere near you. The only thing that you could hear was the incessant rain hitting the grass below you. Your teeth clattered together as yet another shudder wracked through your decaying body. Your breath fell out of your mouth in short bursts, rendering you light-headed among the cold that was numbing your fingertips.

You didn't quite know how you had gotten here.

"_You still have the potential to be beneficial to this world."_

You remembered the voice like it was yesterday. The faint outline of the figure above you had been unrecognizable at the time. You clearly remembered your inner voice begging to be spared; you'd had so much to live for. If you had known the world that your sparing had plunged you into, you thought, you would have been okay with not being given a second chance.

All you had done since that day was destroy and smear the light that you used to live in, replacing it with thick, tangible darkness that had begun to taint your soul. There was no way that you were beneficial to the world by allowing the poisoned midnight to spread until it encompassed everything. Your actions over the last months were so _unlike you._

The warmth of your past had been wiped away by the haunting fingers of time which had unraveled your understanding of the universe. Left alone and cowering away from the world, you had been abandoned by everything once familiar to you. The comfort of your bed was long gone, kind smiles of your friends and family a distant shine of a past which you did not dare reminisce. The feeling of a carpet underneath bare feet, sunshine warming rosy cheeks, and laughing with your friends felt like it existed eons ago in a part of the world no longer available to you.

You could have sworn your skin used to radiate youth. Your body used to be full of energy, your mind looking ahead to a future filled with endless possibilities. Your eyes used to be flower petals and starlight, fingers delicate and rosy. Your mind used to be a place of peace and stability.

_No,_ you thought. _That isn't me anymore._

You had been shaken to the core. Over the last months of your life, your foundation of understanding had been cracked and shattered beyond repair. Your skin had dulled with time, your eyes had lost their shine. Your inner voice became one of harsh words and despair, beckoning you to do unspeakable things.

You had been taken advantage of in the worst way possible, warped and twisted into something that no longer resembled the person that you used to be. You were naught but a shell of your former life. All that you knew now was the darkness and manipulation of the world. You had voluntarily stepped into a sticky web of deceit, under the impression that you would be able to find your way back to freedom. Little did you know that the second you entered a dark world so unknown to you, the door had been slammed behind your back and locked tightly.

The ache within your chest spread up to your throat. You had never before felt so _stupid._ You had always thought that you were smart enough to keep yourself safe, at the very least, but you were stuck and you knew that well. This life that you hated so was the only path left available to you.

Betrayal rose up and began to cement itself into every core of your being, filling you with an ugly lament for the past life that was no longer available to you. You could never go back, but there was nothing that you dreaded more than returning to the life which you had forged for yourself. Your grip on your arms tightened, and you could feel your nails trying to pierce into your skin even through the thick material of your dress. Even through the anger at your treachery, you knew that at the very core of everything, the situation that you were in was entirely _your fault._

Just before a guttural, twisted scream could fight its way up to your throat, the rain that had been freezing you solid suddenly stopped. You could hear the drops pelting the fabric of an umbrella above you. Teeth chattering from the cold and face almost completely numbed, you lifted your head from its perch between knees pulled up to your chest, meeting eyes with the one person that had been fueling your internal conflict for months.

"So, this is where you've run off to."

His voice was cold and hard, yet it still managed to pull a sense of familiarity out from your heart. You were still unable to decipher the gaze with which he was looking at you, even though you now fully understood the situation that you were in. Despite your blackened feelings and trembling fury, you turned to him as if hoping that he could tell you what to do to fix this.

"This will accomplish nothing. You must know that."

You were unable to form any sort of a reply as you looked up at him through teary, despair-filled eyes. You were aware that you didn't deserve any pity. You had smeared the world with darkness and blackened your heart. Any warmth that the world would have offered you in the past was no longer available to you. Every chance to escape that you had turned down closed another door to salvation. As much as you hated who you were and what you had done, you hated even more that it was your own doing that led you to this place.

"Your fate was sealed a long time ago, (first name). You cannot escape from it. I do not care if you are angry, but sitting out here will bring you nothing. Let us go back and end this childish tantrum that you are throwing."

His every word was sharp and to the point, managing to send another flare of bitter anger through you. If you felt any more, you were sure that your body would turn to glass and shatter to pieces. Your head was filled with the remnants of a thick fog that had finally cleared, allowing you to see yourself and the world you were in as it really was.

Still, you did not respond, for you knew that he was right. You had crossed the line of no return a long time ago; before you had even known that it existed. You no longer had anywhere else to go.

His hand extended towards you and, like a robot programmed to obedience, you lifted your own numbed hand up, allowing him to take it and pull you back up onto wobbly legs. Your dress weighed your body down, the thick layers of fabric soaked with a mixture of rainwater and mud. Hair sticking to your cheeks and forehead, you felt like a drowned rat being peeled out of a trap.

"You can no longer regain what you have lost. This decision was yours, and the consequences are yours to bear as well," he commented as he released your hand, eyes taking in your shivering form with a gaze of disdain.

You couldn't understand what was going through his head as he looked at you.

Was he seeing your greyed skin, the thick bags of exhaustion under your eyes? Could he read your thoughts through your clouded irises? Did he know the hurricane of emotions swirling within your body, and that he had been the one with the key to let them out, running rampant with no sign of stopping? Did he know that he was the one who did this to you?

If any of this was the case, you would never know, for he would never tell you.

"Enough of this," his voice was harsh as he turned around. "We have wasted enough time as it is."

You didn't have to think before your shaky legs, hardly able to support your body, moved to follow him.

This was the only path that the world left open to you.

* * *

Hello all!

Before I go a whole bunch further with this, I have a few notes. I am currently a full-time university student and I have a job, so updates are probably not going to be scheduled yet, but I will have them as soon as possible. But before even that, I am trying to gauge interest before I spend more hours than I already have on this (lol).

I plan on this story having pretty dark undertones if you couldn't tell. I'm aiming for a slow-burn yandere-esque story (way to write away stress, right?) that will likely be fairly long. I just want to know if people are interested before I spend what little free time I have on this. I am really excited for this and it will be executed well, but still, let me know what you think. This prologue is short, but chapters themselves will be much longer.

Please let me know what you think! I haven't ever really done an x reader story either, so we'll see how that goes, I suppose.

Thank you for reading! Please consider sticking around- I have a lot in store for this!


	2. One

Warmth.

The first thing you felt upon coming to was the warmth of the sun enveloping you in a comforting embrace. Like a thick, soft blanket at the end of a long day, it lay upon you, soothing your muscles and softening the thoughts in your mind. You had never felt a peace quite like the one that resided in your heart at this moment. It reached out farther and farther with the beating of your heart, spreading down into your fingertips with a pleasant tingle.

The softness of the world around you was a bubble of serenity, and the edges of your lips curled up into a gentle smile, parting just enough to let out a soft sigh. Your lips were rose petals, eyelashes touching your cheeks with a gentleness akin to the wings of a butterfly fluttering through the blue sky. Your mind was a bouquet of tranquility and pacific comfort. A small hum escaped from the back of your throat as you tried to lull yourself back into the beckoning of sleep at the edge of your mind.

Your thoughts began to mellow out once more, the peace of the world you were in beginning to fade into the background once more. Your muscles relaxed, the soft smile slipping from your face once more as your mind retreated back into the gentle nothingness of sleep. The breeze that was kissing at your cheeks and forearms began to slow as if pacified by your momentary visit to this paradise. The world that you had awoken into began to slip away from you once more, your mind in such a state of repose that you did not notice.

Before you could completely float away, however, there was a small tug at the edge of your consciousness.

"_Wait."_

A voice echoed throughout your head, barely soft enough to make a dent in your stillness. The world had stopped retreating for a moment, and as your mind stretched to grip on to the meaning of the word that you'd just heart, there was another interruption.

"_What are you doing?"_

Consciousness began to return to you slowly, stepping back with hesitance. You had expected to feel the same warmth upon your body, but the lack thereof left you feeling suddenly empty. A hole gradually formed within your chest, expanding with every breath you took.

"_You can't leave like this."_

The hole expanded to the size of the universe in a split second, taking with it every feeling of peace that you had just been surrounded by. At the explosive change in scenery, you wrenched your eyes open in horror as you were met with the true nature of your surroundings.

You could see nothing, but the malice that hung in the air was unmistakable. This was no paradise, and it did not want you to feel peace. This was purgatory.

Your heart was being wrenched up through your throat, causing your heat to pulsate with inexplicable pain with every beat of your chest cavity. You opened your mouth to cry out at the sudden attack of pain that was bombarding every nerve within your body but nothing would come out. You were being attacked from every side, every angle, your body twisting and turning as it tried to fend off the pain that was assaulting it.

"_You've fooled yourself into thinking you can leave._

_At any rate, why do you desire to escape this life so?"_

Your chest began to burn with white-hot flames that licked your every sense with torturous glee. It was as if your soul was being ripped from your body, separating your being into something physically impossible. You could barely comprehend the pain that you were in, and you found yourself wishing for it to just _stop,_ to release you into the hell that you had stumbled your way into.

"_Apologies, but I cannot let that happen. You still have the potential to be beneficial to this world."_

You began to fade away once again. The fires that consumed your body began to dull, and you couldn't tell if it was because you were falling into a state of unconsciousness or if you were simply going numb. You had never been exposed to a bombarding of white-hot pain for such a long period of time. You welcomed any relief with open arms, tears gathering at the edges of your eyes as you struggled to regain your composure.

A sense of dread began to fill your mangled heart, seeping out into your body. With icy claws extending from hands blacker than the darkest hour of the night, it gripped your consciousness and you felt yourself beginning to slip away once again. Your head was swimming with a poisonous mixture of aches, pains, and confusion. The world had shoved you around, and it was now done with you. Discarded like a piece of trash, you began to fade away.

You knew nothing besides the fact that you were sinking, and that you would rather fade into nothing than feel that torturous mixture of agony and fire once more.

And with that, you disappeared once more.

"Miss?"

Like suddenly emerging from underwater, you felt life return to your body. The voice you heard felt far away. Eyebrows furrowing due to a mix of confusion and exhaustion, you struggled to hold on to the rationality of your mind. You squeezed your eyes together tightly for a second before allowing them to open. Immediately, your eyes were assaulted by sunlight that seemed almost comically bright, so much so that you were unable to immediately make any observations about where you were.

"Oh! You're awake!"

The sudden voice startled your heart into overdrive, a lightning strike of fear shooting down your spine. With a yelp you scrambled up to your feet, legs so wobbly that you stumbled back down again, landing hard on your backside. The world whirred around your head like you were drunk, spinning back and forth as you blinked the sunlight out of your eyes to take notice of the person in front of you.

His eyes were a deep, emerald green, sparked with worry. Despite the dirt that smeared his cheeks, his features were soft; a pink-tinted nose and a small set of lips giving him the appearance of someone not at all threatening. In fact, he seemed concerned, eyebrows raised up behind bangs of strawberry-blonde hair.

"Ah- I'm sorry for startling you, Miss!" The boy waved his hands in front of himself as if trying to prove his innocence, his voice a strange mix of urgency and concern. "I'm not gonna hurt you!"

As your heart rate slowed enough that you didn't hear it thumping incessantly in your ears, you felt your breathing begin to slow. The boy's viridescent eyes were kind and compassionate as he looked down at you. You noticed a straw hat hanging by a string from his neck. Over his hands were brown, dirty gloves with a few stray threads jutting out.

Your eyes left the boy for just a split second, and at that moment you were instantly overwhelmed by the beauty and extravagance of your surroundings. The sky above you was a deep azure, spotted here and there with fluffy, snow-white clouds resembling cotton spuds. The sun was high up in the sky, but its heat didn't seem to reach you as a breeze blew through, causing you to shudder slightly, goosebumps prickling up your arms. The small hairs at the back of your neck stood up, causing you to feel antsy and uncomfortable.

Behind you was a large expanse of trees, towering up with beautiful leaves such a deep green that they contrasted beautifully against the blue of the sky. In front of you and behind the boy were glamorous gardens kempt to perfection. Every blossom of every flower that you could see was a beautiful, uninterrupted colour. Blue, purple, pink, red, white; the entire rainbow was kept within this garden, exemplified by every petal of every floweret.

More impressive than the gardens, however, was the building that stood in the middle. Made of stone, the building stood tall, symmetrical and several stories high. You immediately chalked a building of such intricate beauty and grandeur to be a palace, with its gothic-style walls and roof. You found yourself absolutely entranced by the baroque architecture of the building. You had never seen anything like it before.

"Um-" The boy began to speak and trailed off again, lowering his hands as he took in your appearance. "Miss, are you alright? I found you here, out like a light. Do you know where you are?"

You finally felt brave enough to meet his eyes again. The boy seemed to be at a loss as he waited for a response.

Eventually, after giving yourself ample time to decipher his words, you shook your head. His questions were beginning to ground you back into reality, and the reality that you found yourself in was cold and confusing.

Where the hell were you?

"No- No, I don't know," You stammered, throat dry. "Where is this?"

Your claims of ignorance seemed to confuse the boy further. His eyebrows drew together, a look of bewilderment crossing over his face. His confusion, however, was nothing compared to the panic that was beginning to sweep into your veins once again.

Where was this- and how in the world did you get here?

Your hands began to tremble on the ground as a cold rock of desperation fell into the pit of your stomach. Had you been drugged? Kidnapped?

"You're on the grounds of the Phantomhive Estate," the boy told you, unconsciously fiddling with the edges of his gloves as he spoke to you. He tilted his head ever so slightly as he observed you, taking in your strange clothes and body language. Your face contorted as you sat silently, stupified.

The _Phantom-what_ Estate?

As if reading your thoughts, the boy hurried to slap another layer of explanation onto his words. "We're just outside of London, Miss!" He added, smiling as if that should bring you some sense of comfort. "I'm Finnian, but you can call me Finny! I'm the gardener here."

That would explain the dirt on his gloves and hands.

It somehow made sense. The boy in front of you was the personification of spring; his cheeks a rosy pink, strawberry-blonde hair glittering in the sunlight. His voice was kind and gentle, almost melodic, and he gave off a trustworthy vibe.

None of that mattered to you, however.

"What? _London?_" You brought a hand up to the side of your head, which was beginning to throb painfully as your worries expanded, taking with it more and more of your composure. "How is this London-? That doesn't make any sense!"

Finny seemed rather taken aback at your sudden exclamation as if he hadn't expected to hear you speak so much, so loudly. You inhaled sharply, heart fluttering about your chest with agitation. You strained to think back at the last thing that you had remembered doing.

Your head was fuzzy, memories foggy. But through it, you could clearly remember being at home like any other day. There was nothing that stuck out, nothing strange or worth questioning, and certainly nothing that would lead you to end up in London. No travel plans. No saving what little money you had for plane tickets. No packing, no excited chatter with your friends.

There had to be an explanation. There had to be a way to fix this.

Still trembling with anxiety, you stood up on wobbly legs, hands gripping the fabric of your shirt near your chest, acutely aware of the speed with which your heart was hammering away. You felt light-headed with confusion, but you struggled to think as rationally as possible.

"Um, Finny, right?" Your voice was shaky, and you continued after he nodded. "Listen, I'm really sorry about the trouble, but I really shouldn't be here. Would you happen to have a phone that I can use to call home?"

Your posture was stiff, rigid with anticipation as you looked at him. In any other situation, you would have hesitated, anxious at the thought of being such a bother, but your confusion and uneasiness seemed to drown out any other emotions. You needed answers, and you needed to get home- _now._

"Well, we _do _have a telephone," Finny was beginning to sound as confused as you, his eyes scanning over your clothing, expression a mixture of emotions that you were too desperate to decipher. "I hope you understand, I would likely have to ask the head of servants before just letting you into the manor-"

"_Finny."_

Another voice, this one cold and sharp, caused you to flinch in surprise.

Your eyes found their way to another man standing a few yards away. He was the complete opposite of Finny, both physically and in terms of his demeanor. Where Finny seemed endearing, this man was handsome and cold.

His hair was black as ink, framing his face down to his chin in silky strands. His skin was almost unnaturally white, features straight and narrow, thin eyebrows furrowed together in what appeared to be frustration. He was dressed in a black tailcoat with a white button-up shirt that looked to cost more money than your entire school education. He gave off a vibe of authority and dominance, and you found yourself intimidated by him as he looked at you, eyes red as blood.

You had never seen somebody like this before. If Finny was the sun, this man was the moon, carrying himself in a manner of diligence and control.

"Ah, Sebastian!" Finny seemed to relax at the sight of the man.

You, on the other hand, found yourself quite nervous. As _Sebastian_ looked at you, you got the feeling that he could see right through you. You couldn't help feeling as if you were at his mercy somehow, though you knew that you had done nothing wrong.

_But that doesn't matter right now,_ you told yourself. Your family was likely losing their minds. God knows how long you had been gone or how you had ended up here; you just knew that you needed to contact home as soon as possible. You were wandering around blindly, and needed to cast aside your discomfort at the new man's rigid demeanor.

"And who might this be?" Sebastian's voice was deep, laced with suspicion. While you couldn't blame him, you also found yourself desperate for some kind of understanding.

You weren't the bad guy here.

"Oh! Well, I don't know her name," Finny seemed somewhat more composed in front of Sebastian as he struggled to explain the situation. "I found her fainted right here. She says that she's not from London, and would like to use our telephone to call her folks."

Sebastian quirked an eyebrow, his gaze moving from Finny back to you. He took a few seconds to take in your appearance- messy hair and wrinkled clothes, your eyes wide and filled to the brim with desperation. You stood at attention, eyebrows drawn together in distress. You felt as if he was looking straight into your soul, reading your thoughts and listening to every last one of your secrets.

You were barely able to suppress a shudder, jaw locked shut.

"Yes, you must not be from here." Sebastian seemed more imposing as he was speaking to you directly. "I've not seen clothing as… odd as yours."

You found yourself frowning, puzzled.

A quick glance down at your clothes left you more confused. Yes, they were slightly wrinkled and clearly not ironed and pressed to perfection like his own tailcoat and pristine shirt. You normally took _some_ pride in your appearance, so you didn't quite understand how jeans and a thin sweatshirt could be so offending to him.

You had been passed out, for God's sake.

"I-" Your mouth opened and closed a few times, leaving you feeling like a fish out of water. "I suppose so? Look, I really don't mean to cause any trouble. I just want to call home so I can let them know that I haven't been murdered."

Sebastian regarded you with a gaze that you could not decipher. He brought a hand up to his chin as if thinking about something, going silent for a few seconds. You felt stiff and awkward as you stood there, clearly out of your element, waiting for some sort of an answer.

"Yes, I am sure this can be arranged," he eventually decided, hand going back down to his side. "Finny, you may return to your duties. I expect the gardens to be weeded by the end of the day. You've dallied enough as it is."

Finny went rigid, eyes widening slightly.

"Yes, Sebastian!" He nodded, throwing another glance your way. "Pleasure to meet you, Miss!"

Before you could even think to thank him, he bounced back off into the gardens, leaving you alone with one of the main sources of your current discomfort. You hadn't realized just how gentle Finny's presence had been until he left your sight.

You weren't quite sure why you were so uneasy around this man. Given the circumstances it made sense for you to feel off, you reasoned. But, these people were helping you. Stranger danger would have to go out of the window in this situation, and Finny had seemed genuinely kind and concerned for your well-being despite your erratic behaviour.

So why in the hell was this person causing you to feel so unsettled?

"Please, my Lady," Sebastian's voice brought you out of your stupified thoughts. His words caused your stomach to twist with chagrin. "Do follow me this way, if you would."

_My Lady? _What was this, the nineteenth century?

Your legs seemed to move of their own accord, urging you to follow Sebastian. You kept your lips pressed shut, trying to occupy your mind by focusing on the grandeur of your surroundings. The beauty of the gardens, however, could not erase your uneasiness.

You wrapped your arms around yourself lightly, gripping the fabric of your sweatshirt with clammy hands. You were still feeling the effects of the immense stress you were under. The confusion only seemed to grow with every interaction you were having with the people around you. It was almost as if you were disconnected, living in a dream world in which everything that was happening around you was off in some small way. There was a lump in your throat, making it feel difficult to breathe as you normally would.

"Pardon my asking, but where is it that you are from?" Your mind returned to the present at Sebastian's question. He had glanced back at you, his unnatural, blood-red eyes meeting yours momentarily.

You cleared your throat, trying to ignore the clear tension in the air. "I'm from pretty far, actually. I live in the United States."

If there had been any other house nearby you would have opted to go there, instead. Your surroundings seemed weighed down by an invisible force as if destined to make you as uncomfortable as possible.

His eyebrows rose slightly as if he was surprised but didn't care to show it too much. "Is that so?" Leading you towards the front door of the estate, you were once again taken aback at the sheer size of it. Towering over you, the building blocked you from the sun, engulfing you in a shadow. You shuddered at the sudden loss of warmth, rubbing your arms slightly.

"What a distance," he commented, leading you up one of the twisting sets of stairs to the front door. "Might I inquire how you found your way to our gardens?"

You bit your lip at his question, stomach filling with dread at the prospect of answering his question. You knew that telling the truth would only increase the suspicion rightfully laid upon you, but you were in absolutely no position to lie.

_I hope these people don't call the cops on me._

"Um, that's a little more difficult to answer," your hand slid up the railing of the stairs as you made your way up. "I really don't know. I actually just sort of… woke up there? I really think something strange happened. That's why I want to call home."

Sebastian, who had opened the front door and stepped aside for you to enter, looked right down at you. "Is that so? How peculiar."

The fact that he didn't exhibit any signs of surprise put you off. You felt as if you were simply being humored, like Sebastian was an adult listening to a child recount a tale of something that had clearly not happened. While you couldn't blame him to a certain degree, you were desperate for some sort of validation.

You stopped for a second. You looked at him with your lips parted, wanting to say something to support your case, but not knowing what.

Deciding that you would just have to suck up your humiliation, you pressed your lips together once more to silence yourself and walked into the estate.

You stopped as soon as you entered, looking around at your surroundings with widened eyes. The beauty of the entrance was astounding. The floors were waxed to perfection, as reflective as a mirror, stretching out in front of you towards a staircase. The stairs were wide and large, carpeted red, leading up to a landing after which it split into two different directions. Above the landing was a massive painting of a woman in a beautiful, old-fashioned green dress sitting in a chair. A man stood behind her, his hand atop the chair in which the woman was sitting.

The ceilings were far above your head, intricate chandeliers hanging down with grace. Every single candle was lit, the glass of the lanterns and chandeliers glittering as if to show off their beauty. The walls were simple, muted colours, framed by rich, dark wood. The gothic-style architecture was absolutely beautiful, clearly well-taken care of and preserved. You had never been in such an old-fashioned home besides restorations in museums, and this felt much more authentic in a way that you couldn't explain.

"Welcome to the Phantomhive Manor, my Lady," you turned to see Sebastian bowing his torso ever so slightly, one of his gloved hands atop his chest.

Feeling as if you were being made fun of, your face flushed.

"Sorry for gawking. This is just- this is beautiful. I've never seen anything like it," you scrambled over your words, feeling as if your voice was too loud for the manor's air of silence.

"Not at all," Sebastian straightened up, eyes flickering over the entrance. "If we could not upkeep the master's estate, we would not be worthy of the title of a Phantomhive servant."

Once again, his word choice sent another flicker of unease down your throat. You were not at all used to hearing people use words like 'servant' or 'master.' It sounded painfully outdated, but you kept your mouth shut. The situation was strange enough without you voicing your opinions.

It was almost as if you had fallen into another era in your sleep.

"If you would," Sebastian took the lead once again, heading towards one of the doors, "please follow me."

The air grew musty as you followed the man through the door and into the corridor beyond. You got the feeling that this part of the house wasn't used as much. Though it was just as clean as the rest of the house, the environment was significantly mustier, and much darker due to the lack of windows. Your heart began fluttering throughout your chest again, sending a new course of adrenaline rushing through your veins.

This was painfully cinematic. The dreary atmosphere, the strange man leading you through it, and you, clueless as a lamb, wandering through a mansion because you had no other choice. If this were a horror movie, you thought, you would have been entering a trap for sure.

_You're smart,_ you tell yourself. _Just keep your head straight, call home, and get out._

A good way down the corridor, Sebastian stopped. Taking the handle of a door, he opened it for you with a polite, thin-lipped smile.

"Here you are, my Lady," his smooth voice was buttery and deep. "Please, take your time."

Your shoulders relaxed considerably. With a quiet thanks, you thanked any and every God above you and made your way into the room-

Before freezing in your tracks.

Upon the beautifully furnished wooden table was a telephone looking like it was dated more than a hundred years before your time. Though sleek and well-polished, the phone looked like a contraption from around the same time as the rest of the household. The only part of the telephone that was identifiable to you was the rotary phone dial that you had seen on vintage telephones from the eighties.

You couldn't tell if you were more impressed or frustrated.

"Um-" You stopped yourself shortly before turning around. "I'm sorry. I love the vintage feel that this place has, but I have absolutely no idea how to use this. You wouldn't happen to have a cell phone, or even a landline, do you?"

Sebastian's perpetual, polite smile fell from his face.

"Vintage, you say?" Sebastian inquired. "I'm not quite sure where it is that you are from, but it must be quite advanced. The Phantomhive Manor is equipped with all modern appliances available to Great Britain, this telephone included. I have not yet heard of 'cell phones' or 'landlines.'"

Your head went hot and, flushed pink with frustration, you frowned up at the man. Something within you bubbled, the frustration of your predicament filling your head with agitation.

"Listen, I'm genuinely sorry if I offended or troubled you in any way. Seriously, I am. But this isn't funny. My parents are probably freaking out, and I really need to call them. If you don't want me to do it here, just say so instead of jerking me around like this," your voice was thick with emotion, harsh and snappy, your eyes beginning to burn at the sensation of oncoming tears. The stress of the last half-hour that you were awake was quickly beginning to add up to be more than you could handle.

Sebastian's eyebrows rose once again at your sudden show of distress, but his eyes still showed absolutely no emotion. Your hands, clenched into fists at your side, began to tremble. Beginning to feel as if you had made a grave mistake by going anywhere near this man, you began to scold yourself inwardly.

_You idiot. Where the hell did stranger danger go? Especially in a girl from 2019?_

"My," Sebastian's face fell neutral once again. "It seems as if we have a misunderstanding. It was not at all my intention to _jerk you around,_ as you've put it."

You exhaled sharply in disbelief at his words.

"What do you mean?" You demanded, voice rising an octave as you began to lose your rationality amidst the wave of anguish. "You're behaving like we're back in the 19th century. Wireless telephones have been a thing since like, the 1990s."

A wave of silence fell between the two of you. You could hear your heart thumping away loudly, your vision swimming with tears that you refused to let fall. Despite your anger, you hesitated to lose yourself to your emotions too quickly. You were at a disadvantage, in an unfamiliar area with someone who was slowly becoming more and more difficult to be around.

The man's voice became rather steely as he looked straight down at you, expression unreadable.

"Do tell me, what date do you believe it to be?"

Shoulders rising and falling in time with your quickened breaths, you shook your head in dismay. "It's October. Twenty-nineteen- I don't remember the exact day. Why?"

For the first time since you'd met the man, Sebastian seemed to show some semblance of true emotion. The edges of his lips curled up into a rather malignant smirk. His eyes, so red they almost glowed, regarded you with a sudden air of interest.

"My, that explains quite a bit, does it not?"

You were completely lost. Frustration dimming in the light of exhaustion, you couldn't bring yourself to demand an explanation at his cryptic comment. Something about the way he was looking at you kept you rooted in place as if you were nothing more than a lamb, defenseless and weak.

"It has been a handful of years since I've met someone able to travel through time," his voice was filled to the brim with amusement as he looked down at you, still trembling.

"Time?" You felt another shiver dance along your spine, prickling your arms with goosebumps. "There's no such thing as time-travel."

Your argument sounded weak, and even you knew that.

You weren't going to say that you were the most superstitious person in the world. Time-traveling was a myth. You thought so, society thought so. _Science _thought so. Yet here you were, within a gothic-style manor construction with baroque-style architectural features that conquered all of nature around it. You felt smothered by darkness. Maybe it was because of your exhaustion, but you began to feel as if Sebastian's words held some sort of sense to them.

"Is that so?" Sebastian took a step closer to you, causing you to subconsciously lean back. "Just because you have not yet encountered it does not mean that there is no such thing. You lot are quite keen on jumping to conclusions."

The air around you constricted with his close proximity. He was slowly invading your personal space, a fact your body was very aware of as you stiffened. It was hard to breathe as he looked down at you with ruby-red eyes swimming with a mixture of curiosity, amusement, and something else that you couldn't quite place.

When you didn't respond, Sebastian took it upon himself to fill the silence once more.

"I do hope you'll excuse my forwardness, but I believe you should speak with my master before I allow you to leave."

You tensed, heart freezing within your chest. Slowly becoming light-headed, the gravity of the situation began to descend upon you, leaving you scared and desperate, your mind writhing for a solution. Trapped in a corner like a mouse in front of a cat, you were acutely aware that you couldn't dodge past Sebastian and run. And even if you could, where would you go? The damned, beautiful manor was a maze. It seemed to breathe around you, as if unwilling to let you escape just yet.

You were trapped, you realized with a start.

_No_, you thought. _I have to be smart. I have to get myself out of this mess. _

"If you would, my Lady," Sebastian finally stepped back, "follow me this way."

Finally able to breathe somewhat comfortably again, you kept your lips pressed together tightly as you followed Sebastian back down the same hallway you had come from. The musty air clung to you, making your skin feel somewhat damp. You didn't know why, but you were beginning to feel grimy and disgusting. The entire manor was beautiful and intricate, grandiose in every meaning of the word. You, however, were a black sheep. You had never felt so uncomfortable in your jeans and sweatshirt. You were like a block of coal among perfectly sculpted diamonds.

Your throat was constricted as you found yourself in the entrance again, this time turning to head up the massive stairs to the landing. The painting with the man and woman seemed much darker and more imposing than it had before like they were staring down at you with malicious intents hidden behind their shadowed eyes. The flames of the candles danced as you walked by them, quivering in excitement.

For the first time in your life, you truly felt as if you had stumbled upon something you were never meant to see. This manor held dark secrets in the shadows nestled in corners; this much you knew for sure. Where you could only see beauty upon first entering the building, you now saw menace hidden behind a well-practiced facade. You weren't sure what had changed; if it was just your mindset or something much darker at play, but you didn't care.

Atop the stairs was another corridor, this one much larger and more elegant than the musty one that you had been in before. An earthy green covered the walls, trimmed with beautiful dark wood. The sconces that held the candles were a perfectly polished gold that complemented the flames and walls perfectly, curled up and around in swirls that framed the candles. The doors were large, the same wood as the trimmings of the walls, and all closed. You didn't know how one could find usage for so many rooms, but that was the least of your concerns at the moment.

Nausea began to fill your stomach, so strong that you almost considered stopping and catching your breath for a moment. A foreboding feeling you had never before felt filled your body, breaking a dam which allowed dread to crash over you at the prospect of your situation.

What the hell were you going to do if you were actually stuck back in time?

You couldn't shake the look that Sebastian had given you earlier with his slit, blood-red eyes. There was something supernatural about the man in front of you. He was the personification of a mystery that you wanted no part in figuring out. He made you feel uneasy and self-conscious. There was a shadow behind his eyes that he hid well with his mannerisms, but it had glinted at you when he had stood so close to you. You could only wonder what kind of a person that he was bringing you to speak to.

You tried to steady your breathing. All that you had to do was clear up the situation and get out of there. If you could keep your head straight, you might just have a chance of getting out of the situation you had let yourself get lured into.

_This is getting worse and worse by the minute._

You had become so absorbed in your thoughts, mindlessly following Sebastian, that you flinched as he came to a sudden stop in front of a large set of wooden double-doors with golden handles. Swiftly, he brought up one of his gloved hands to rap on the door twice, bringing forth a pair of sharp knocks.

There was a short silence before a voice sounded from within, sending your heart to plummet into your stomach.

"_Come in."_

* * *

I think I'm going to really give this a shot. I've been enjoying writing this more than I should admit lol.

Please let me know what you think! I'm genuinely really curious.


	3. Two

"_Come in."_

Your mouth was completely dry as Sebastian turned the knob to one of the doors, pushing it open with grace. You heard not a creak from the door, nothing to disrupt the icy silence that lay within the room ahead of you. It was lit, although somewhat dimly, from the sun that had been creeping towards the western horizon. The walls were a muted brown, simple but well-maintained. Directly ahead of you was a massive window that let in the dwindling sunlight, framed by two curtains pulled back and tied with a simple but elegant bow.

In front of the window was a large desk of wood so glossy that it seemed reflective, atop of which were several stacks of slightly scattered papers and a quill sitting in a bottle of ink. At the large, red and plush chair sat who you assumed to be the head of household that Sebastian had hinted at: a boy.

Though he looked young, you couldn't be certain of his age. His skin was porcelain, large azure eyes hinting at his lack of age. However, he held a demeanor of someone who had lived thousands of years: stiff and strict. His mouth was set in a frown that seemed to be frozen in place; you found yourself doubting that this boy had smiled at all recently. He seemed to be a perfect match to Sebastian in the air that was around him and in the intimidation that he caused you to feel.

He wore a rich, royal blue waistcoat and a pristine button-up that was white as snow. Around his neck was a simple, thin ribbon matching his waistcoat in colour. His left eye, however, was covered by a black eyepatch partly obscured by dark hair tinted blue where the sunlight reflected from it. He seemed perfectly composed, authoritative and stern.

As his eyes landed upon you, his eyebrows rose up ever so slightly behind his bangs. His hands, which had been clasped in front of his face, loosened and he placed them down on his desk. Eyeing your strange attire, the boy's facial expression morphed into one of confusion and distaste.

"Sebastian," his voice was crisp and austere, British accent thick, but even as he addressed his servant, his eyes remained upon you. "What is this?"

There seemed to be several unspoken questions within his words that you could not hear. His eyes were locked onto you, as if he was trying to figure you out without so much as speaking to you. You probably looked like a street rat to him, you concluded. Even so, that didn't explain how he seemed engrossed by your presence. You hadn't spoken a single word, yet he was looking at you as if he wanted to know everything about you.

_He probably does,_ you told yourself. _So that he can kick you the hell out. _

You hadn't noticed Sebastian's closing of the door behind you, effectively locking you in a cage with two predators that seemed to work together in perfect unison. Placing his gloved hand above his chest, Sebastian bowed his head for a few seconds before speaking.

"Young Master," he spoke, velvety voice perfectly composed as he approached the boy. "She was found in the gardens. Her circumstances do seem quite peculiar, if you will."

Frozen in place, you didn't move as Sebastian reached the boy, leaning down to whisper something into his ear for a long few seconds. Despite the frigid atmosphere and frosty silence, you couldn't make out a single word that Sebastian was saying. You felt extremely alienated, weighed down as if you were in danger without knowing exactly why. You couldn't break eye contact with the boy, but you also didn't want to look at him anymore. His unwavering gaze unsettled you just as much as Sebastian did, just in a different way.

They both looked at you as if they knew more about you than you did yourself, like your every thought was being broadcasted to them. While Sebastian's well-tailored but slightly transparent facade of courtesy gave you the creeps, this kid seemed to hold a great amount of authority. You found yourself instinctively wanting not to upset him, for you knew the consequences could be dire. Looking at the two of them together, however, made you feel like nothing more than a speck of dirt on the carpet.

Sebastian leaned back up, and for the first time since your entrance, the boy averted his eye from you to look at Sebastian. "_What?_" He hissed, frown deepening before he looked right back at you. His gaze was sharp and judgemental, looking you up and down in perplexity.

Sebastian straightened up again, stepping behind the boy where he stood still as a statue. There was an invisible line between you and the pair. You were completely left in the dark, trapped in a room that you didn't at all want to be in. The shadows seemed to pulsate in the corners of the walls, reaching out to you. Despite your anxiety, however, you stood still, frozen in apprehension. You didn't dare move, and you certainly didn't speak.

What had Sebastian said that needed to be whispered? Was he not just as confused as you, or was there something he knew that you didn't?

The small master, sitting up straight, stared at you with eyebrows narrowed dangerously.

"Who are you?" The boy finally spoke to you, his words more of a demand than a question. Heavy with implications of suspicion, you responded as quickly as your jittery mind would allow.

"Nobody," you insisted, hands grasping one another in front of your stomach to relieve even the smallest amounts of anxiety. "I'm (first name) (last name)- I really don't want to cause any trouble."

There was nothing much that you could say, for you were well aware of the connotation of your situation and what it implied. How in the hell were you supposed to explain yourself without sounding like you were either high out of your mind or fresh out of a sanitarium? You definitely didn't want someone as unwavering as the two in front of you to have you thrown in jail.

_For fuck's sake, I just want to leave._

The boy's frown was cemented into his face as he stared you down. "Is that so?" He challenged. "Sebastian tells me you're from the future. That doesn't at all make you a nobody, does it?"

His condescension towards you was more than agitating. Your stomach curled with anger, face flushing and head going hot.

You exhaled sharply, stomach twisting itself into knots. While you couldn't blame him for the way that he was speaking towards you, you also knew that you weren't insane. You just did not know how you were supposed to convince him of that.

"I know, I get it," you stiffly tried to empathize with him, gripping the fabric of your sleeves so tightly that your knuckles turned white. "It sounds crazy. I feel crazy. But I'm not lying; I have nothing to gain from this. I'm just as confused as you are."

"While I would be inclined to agree that you are confused, you must understand the position you are in," he drummed his fingers on his desk, the dull repetition of the noise boring itself into your aching head. "Appearing rather suddenly upon the grounds of a nobleman in your strange attire brings your credibility into question. How is it that I am supposed to trust that you really have no ill intent?

Your nostrils flared in frustration. The anger that suddenly swelled within you was almost impossible to contain. It burned within you, scorching your esophagus as you fought to keep fiery words unsaid.

Your earlier philosophy of playing it safe was becoming harder and harder to follow. You couldn't force your innocence into anyone's mind, but you couldn't stand for being defamed. You didn't exactly appear to be a scheming mastermind of any sort.

"What do you want me to say?" You demanded, the words flying out of your mouth before you could stop them. "If I was going to lie, I could find something much more believable. I'm not asking for your acceptance. I don't want anything from you. I don't even know who you are."

"And out of all the places you could have appeared, it just so happens that you show up on my estate?" He raised an eyebrow as he looked at you across the room's expanse. "Quite the convenient story."

Your filter shattered, frustration bubbling over and getting the best of you.

"I don't know what it is that you're trying to accuse me of, but I'm just as clueless as you. I don't even _want _to be here," you snapped, exasperated. "If I felt like I could find my way out of this joint, I'd be fucking gone."

"I rather doubt that," the boy remarked, completely unfazed by your clear frustration. As his hand moved, a large ring on his finger caught the sunlight, reflecting it off of the deep blue stone embedded within.

_This kid has more money now than I'm ever going to make in life. _

"When are you from?" He demanded, still scrutinizing you.

"October, twenty-nineteen," you responded immediately. Instead of being intimidated, you were beginning to feel rather frustrated with the boy. He had no reason to keep you here to interrogate you. Unable to keep your mouth shut anymore, you challenged him directly. "Queen Elizabeth II is the current Queen of England. She's old as hell but still in charge. Women and minorities are gaining equality and education. You can keep on trying to intimidate me, but I'm not going to sit back and take it; I'm nothing like the women from this era."

The boy raised an eyebrow at your abrasive language and manner of speaking. You were irritated to no end, emotional and exhausted. You had no idea what specifically was going on, but you knew for sure that you had done nothing wrong.

_This is annoying and uncalled for. _

"I can see that," the boy laced his hands once again. "Tell me the state of affairs in the world where you're from. I'm rather interested in the progression of mankind."

Your jaw clenched at the prospect of being ordered around by this child, but you tried to reign it back a little bit.

_Stay cool. Just get yourself out of here. _

"You probably wouldn't like it," you stated simply. "In most developed countries, status is not determined by birth anymore. There isn't nobility and only a few monarchies. The world is focused on social justice and equality for everyone. Women go to school, and almost everyone goes to university. There is very little segregation and countries try to work together; especially after World War II."

The boy sat up straighter at your words. "_World War?_" He repeated, his voice laced with surprise. "There's two?"

_Shit._

"Listen," you tried to derail the subject, previous rant having rid you of some nervous energy, "if I really am in the past, then I have more important things to be doing than standing here, being interrogated like some prisoner when I've done nothing wrong. I need to figure out how to get back. Are we done here?"

You tried to keep yourself composed, but you were still visibly shaken. You could still feel your heart aflutter in your chest, but your initial intimidation was becoming clouded by your desperation to regain some control over yourself and your situation. You couldn't stay here, caged like a bird. You were wasting time by standing here and answering the questions of a pompous nobleman that held no true authority over you.

After all, what was he going to do, send his stick-thin butler after you? In your fit of frustration, you found yourself thinking that you could snap him in two if you tried hard enough.

"And how exactly _are_ you going to get back?" The boy raised the one question you had been dreading thinking about. "If you are as clueless as you claim to be, then it would be fair to assume that you are as good as trapped."

You were sure that your face gave away your discomfort, but you tried to hide it. The boy was right, but you weren't itching to let him know that. You were aware of how royally screwed you were.

"If there's a way here, then there's a way back," you countered. "I just have to find it. But I'm sure as hell never going to do that if I stay standing here, am I?"

The edge of his lips curled up into a smirk. Looking at you out of eyes filled with something you couldn't discern, the boy leaned back in his chair, throwing one leg over the other. Breaking his rigid posture from earlier, now sitting at ease, you found yourself almost overwhelmed by the confidence that seemed to ooze out of this boy. He clearly felt as if he was in complete control, and you didn't enjoy the implications of that.

"Indeed," his initial response was simple, but he began to speak soon after.

"Though you clearly seem to think otherwise, I have my reasons for interrogating you. My duties as head of household are complicated and burdensome. They carry with them an array of dangers, so you can understand my suspicion towards a stranger happening upon my estate. Especially one who looks as unseemly as you."

Lips pressed together, you let yourself nod.

"Fair enough," you relented.

He continued once again. "If you truly have come from the future as my butler insists, then I have a proposition for you."

You frowned, suddenly extremely focused on his words.

"I have had jobs that have led me down paths that I'm sure will be very beneficial to the understanding of your circumstances. Similarly, I believe your knowledge of the future and the perspectives that it gives you could be advantageous to me. I will provide you with lodging and any information pertaining to traveling through time. In return, you will work for me and aid me when I ask for it. I believe that we could form a mutually beneficial agreement."

You were genuinely stunned.

How long had you known this boy; fifteen minutes?

The entire situation reeked of danger to you. You didn't know anything about this person, and he knew even less about you. It was already fishy enough that he was so quick to believe that you had actually fallen through time, something that you yourself weren't even able to completely confirm yet. But to then turn around and offer you what was strangely akin to a job?

Were you tripping on acid?

Your confidence from before was replaced with confusion, leaving you scrambling to think up a reply. "Listen, you've gotta give me more credit than that. I don't even know your name. As a girl, I can't exactly go around staying in random people's houses. That just screams murder to me. Why are you so quick to accept that I'm from the future, anyway? That's far-fetched and nearly impossible, even to me."

The boy's blue eye pierced into you.

"Don't be so quick to accept the world at its surface. There is always more going on than you are privy to."

His cryptic reply caused your stomach to curl with discomfort. Your heart chilled in your chest.

_What is that supposed to mean?_

There was something dark hanging in the air. A strange tension that you had never before felt. It wrapped itself around you, curling around your wrists and ankles as if it was unwilling to let you go. A stone of dread settled in your stomach, keeping you rooted in place.

The manor seemed to breathe, like it was its own entity that served to fulfill its master's wishes. Within its deepest corners were shadows and secrets darker than anything that you could imagine.

No part of you wanted to be involved with this place. You didn't even know the people that were standing in front of you, staring you down like you were something that they couldn't let escape. You were a butterfly that was flying too close to a spider's web. If you got trapped, you knew that there would be no way out.

"How can I trust what you're telling me?" You eventually asked. "I don't know you."

"Do you have a choice?" The boy countered. "You describe having lived a comfortable life as an equal to men. The world today will not regard you as such. As an American, you have neither the knowledge of Britain today nor the funds to traverse it. I can offer you that alongside safety and information that you would not happen across by yourself."

You pressed your lips together, acutely aware that he was absolutely correct.

"If I don't know anything about your England, how am I going to be any help to you?" You felt yourself beginning to succumb to what he was offering.

"I have my reasons," he told you simply, narrowed eyes completely focused on you.

_Damn it. _

_He has me completely cornered. _

You found yourself suddenly missing your home life more than you ever had. For all of the times you dreaded school, you suddenly decided that you would rather brave the cesspool of germs and assholes than deal with this kid's condescension over you.

There was absolutely nothing you could do, and that frustrated you to no end.

"Okay," you decided, jaw clenching. "Fine. We have a deal."

The boy's lips curled in victory.

"Good," he stood from his chair, the setting sun painting the sky behind him a conglomeration of orange and pink, overwhelmed by a red so deep it resembled blood. "During your stay, you will answer to me. You are not to lie, and if you do I _will _find out."

He stepped around his desk, a sapphire eye trained on you. Though its colour was deep and rich, his gaze was absolutely stone cold.

"I am Ciel Phantomhive, head of household. I serve Her Majesty by fulfilling her wishes through the darkness of the underworld, and this you will help me with when I deem it necessary. You will not do anything to compromise my missions."

He stopped in front of you. Though Ciel was an inch or two shorter than you, his presence was huge and domineering. You got the feeling that there was a lot about this boy and Sebastian than met your eyes. The gut feeling that you got around them caused you to feel slightly nauseous. It was like they were an extension of the darkness that lurked within the manor itself.

You would have to play it very safe, you told yourself. You knew that they didn't trust you and that they would be scrutinizing your every move. If you had another choice, there was absolutely no way that you would have taken up Ciel's offer.

But Victorian-Era England was worlds away from your time. You had never studied it in-depth, but your knowledge of history around this time was all that you needed. You knew that society and the economy were still reeling from the dramatic changes of the Industrial Revolution. The world was modernizing too fast for the people to keep up, leaving cities running rampant with anger and middle-classes hostile towards the nobility. Poverty was no secret, and with poverty came crime, disease, and danger.

And Ciel had been right. Though you, as a woman, were raised equal to men, the world you were in now would not see you that way. They would expect you to be subservient and could do as they wanted without worrying about legal repercussions. You would not be safe if you dumped yourself onto the streets recklessly, expecting to find a solution to your problem quickly. As unfair as the situation was, there was nothing that you could do but adapt, improvise, and overcome.

If you needed to lay low and investigate under the guise of a nobleman's informant, then fine. You would do it.

"Do I make myself clear?" Ciel demanded.

You met his eyes and nodded once, short and concise. With one word, you unknowingly sealed your fate.

"Yes."

Ciel studied you for a moment longer before turning back around, satisfied with your answer. He then looked at Sebastian.

"Show her to one of the guest rooms," he ordered. "And see to it that she has clothes befitting a lady of this era."

Sebastian's lips stretched into one of his polite smiles as he bowed his head. "Yes, my lord."

The impact of your decision had not yet hit you through the wall of adrenaline that had kept you going since your awakening. Sebastian stepped past you, silently like a shadow, and opened the double doors once again. Standing still, he pinned you down with his gaze.

"If you would, my Lady," he beckoned, gesturing back into the hallway.

You glanced back at Ciel again, but he was already focused on the papers atop his desk like you no longer existed. Trying and failing to swallow the lump in your throat you turned, leaving his study without another word.

Sebastian began leading you through the manor once again. You tried this time to focus on drawing a mental map of the manor's hallways in an attempt to keep your thoughts away from the decision that you had just made. You felt small and separated from the rest of the world, tucked away into a manor on the outskirts of London. You didn't exist in this universe. You were no more than an ant.

Looking up at Sebastian from behind, you found yourself aware of just how uneasy he made you feel. There was something arcane about him, milky skin and jet black hair. His blood-red eyes seemed to be able to see straight through you, giving you the feeling that you couldn't hide anything from him if you tried.

And you _hated_ that.

You would need to be careful around the both of them, but Sebastian especially. Despite the fact that they were offering you security and a place to stay, you didn't at all feel safe. You felt as if there was a double meaning to everything that they had said. There was an unseen side to this agreement, you just didn't know what it was.

You crossed over the landing by the entrance once more, but instead of going back down this time, you continued to the other side and into a hallway that mirrored the one that you had just been in.

"These rooms are primarily for guests of high caliber," Sebastian suddenly spoke, pulling you back out of your thoughts. "You will be staying here for the duration of your visit."

He stopped in front of a door, opening it for you. Inside was a lavish room, decorated generously. In the middle of the wall adjacent to you was a large bed with a mahogany frame. The quilt was primarily dark green, pulled up to cover large pillows. The wallpaper was a dark brown, simple enough as to not overwhelm the eye while still remaining impressive on its own. There was a vanity, also mahogany, with a large mirror. By the door was a wardrobe. The room was decorated simply, two nightstands with a small candelabrum each and a simple, scenic painting on the wall. There was a single window in the room, but it was large and framed beautifully. The wood curled in small circles below the windowsill, and curtains matching the bedspread in colour were pulled back gracefully.

Beautiful as it was, it still felt terribly dull. You didn't want to be here.

"Please make yourself at home," the butler gave you a polite smile. "And if I may, I would recommend you retire early. We are scheduled to have guests tomorrow."

You only nodded.

Sebastian bid you goodnight before closing the door behind you, leaving you enveloped in silence so heavy that it almost immediately brought you to tears. Standing in a beautiful, yet completely unfamiliar room, you began to tremble. You dragged yourself over to the vanity, angling the mirror up so that you could look at yourself.

The glass was too clean, allowing you to see yourself clearer than you would have liked to. Your eyes were ever so slightly bloodshot, your skin pale and clammy. You looked painfully out of place in your modern clothes, and you were unable to help feeling like you were deeply involving yourself in something that you would not easily be able to escape from. This entire place was otherworldly, hauntingly beautiful. You absolutely didn't belong.

You cursed under your breath, angling the mirror away as soon as your eyes began to glisten with tears of defeat and exhaustion.

You turned around towards the wardrobe and opened it. Within were a few dresses, some of which clearly meant for daytime and one looking like a nightgown. The fabric was thick and expensive, intricately crafted, meant for a noblewoman of the highest caliber. You almost immediately shut the doors again, unable to imagine yourself trying to fit into this world.

Trudging towards the bed, you collapsed atop the sheets. They were soft and welcoming, enveloping you in an embrace of offered comfort. Try as you might, however, there was no repose that you could find. There was nothing sympathetic about your situation. This world was driven by the survival of the fittest, and you hated that you had to rely on two very suspicious characters to try and find your way back home.

But what did you expect?

It wasn't as if you could walk outside and find a massive portal waiting to bring you back home. Realistically, you didn't even know where to start. Your memories were slightly fuzzy near the end of your day back home, but you recalled easily how mundane the day had been. It was just like any other. You had woken up, gone to school, went to work, and come back home. You were exhausted to the bone, just like every other weekday, and collapsed into bed without even eating dinner. Monday through Friday was all like that, the same day repeated on an endless loop. If something had differed, you would have known.

You tried to find some small comfort in that. If your traveling to Victorian-Era England had been that spontaneous, then perhaps you would get sent back home in the same fashion. Maybe all you had to do was hold out for a few days and you would wake up in your bed. The world would go back to what it was supposed to be. You would have to find an excuse to give your friends and parents, but that wasn't important. All that mattered is that you would be home again. You could forget that any of this had ever happened. You would never have to think about Ciel or Sebastian, their manor shrouded in darkness, and the underworld of English society.

That thought brought you some comfort. If there was any repose in your current circumstances, it was that at least you weren't living on the streets. You had a rough plan, and you could build on it as you learned.

You felt exhaustion creep up around the edges of your consciousness, holding you in its grip tightly. It was strange; you really had not been awake for very long, but you felt as if you'd been running on empty for the entirety of it. The world was draining you of your energy. As you thought back on the last hour, you felt yourself shudder at the memory of Sebastian and Ciel's eyes boring into you the way that they had.

They were both so domineering. It was as if they had a secret, unspoken language between themselves. You didn't know them at all but had eventually agreed to the vague job you had been offered. You didn't at all understand what type of work Ciel wanted you to do. Hell, you didn't even completely understand what an "underworld" was, and now you were stuck in the middle of it.

_But it's only for a little while._

_Then I can go back home and forget that all of this ever happened. _

These thoughts were the small lights of hope that kept you calm enough for sleep to eventually overtake your weary body.

From the corner of your room, a pair of eyes glowing like bloodied rubies never strayed from your sleeping form.

* * *

A few notes:

First of all, thank you so much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and the prologue! Honestly, it really made my week. For real, it's so much more fun to write and publish when you get a good response. I really appreciate it. 3

Second! This story's got some whack stuff going on. If anything doesn't make sense, I promise it's that way for a reason. What? Ciel spoke to you for like two minutes and wants you to work for him? There's a reason. I promise. All will be revealed in due time.

Third! Ciel's age is always kind of a weird thing to work with. Obviously I'm not going to involve him in romance as a literal child, but a lot of Kuroshitsuji's plot also rests on his age. It's super important. So I'm not going to define a specific age if that makes sense. He's going to be older though, for sure. I want his age to coincide somewhat with the reader. That is, you. This story is supposed to work out of your perspective. That being said, I can't write a vague character to try to fit in all of the different ways people talk, act, think and look. The main character won't always be like you. And for that I'm sorry. But it's either that or have a main character that's essentially a wet rag. And I wouldn't want to write a story like that, so I doubt anyone would want to read it.

Anyways, I have to go to bed. It's late, I just got home from work, and I gotta be up early for Uni and more work. Wish me luck.

Please consider leaving a review! I love love love hearing what you have to say.

Take care!


	4. Three

The early morning sunlight kissed your room through the window.

You had slept disturbingly well. You had expected to be unable to rest at all, plagued by bouts of short sleep interrupted with laying awake, staring at the ceiling until falling back asleep. You did not have any strange dreams or nightmares like you thought you would have had. Instead, your rest was black and still, unsettlingly so. You felt like a rock upon awakening to the birds chirping outside of your window. Your eyelids had been clamped shut tightly and refused to be pried open easily, the pounding of your head trying to convince you to sleep just a little longer.

As the slight scent of dust hit your senses, however, you jerked awake, sitting straight up in shock. Heart aflutter, you looked around the room that you were in, disappointment crashing over you when you realized that you were still in the large, silent manor. The decor was still the same: simple yet elegantly beautiful. It was haunting, enticing you to stay when you wanted nothing more than to leave.

You stayed sitting on the bed for a few minutes, still in your clothes from yesterday, sheets underneath you wrinkled and slightly twisted but still tucked in. You suddenly felt immensely uncomfortable in your jeans, as if you had fallen asleep after school and taken a nap for way too long. The sun was just beginning to break over the horizon, hinting at the early time of your awakening.

Though you were uncomfortable, you also dreaded moving. Though you couldn't deny that part of you was immensely curious about the manor and wanted to explore it, the vast majority of your mind seemed to want you to stay put. You didn't fancy the idea of getting lost or of running into somebody that you didn't want to see.

As if to make fun of you, a knock sounded on your door, causing you to flinch in surprise.

"Lady (last name)," Sebastian spoke from beyond the door, "It is time to rise."

You shuddered as a chill tickled from your spine up to your neck. The doorknob turned and the door opened, revealing the butler's ruby eyes. His polite smile faded slightly upon taking in your form, frazzled and in yesterday's wrinkled clothes.

"My, was it not uncomfortable to rest in your daytime clothing?" He asked, stepping into the room. In one hand he carried a small saucer with a dainty teacup, out of which steam rose and curled up in pleasant waves. Sebastian placed the saucer atop your nightstand, looking down at you with disdain.

"How troublesome," he commented, causing your cheeks to flush slightly. "I am to bring you down to breakfast, but you have not yet been dressed." He seemed to stand just slightly too close, sending signals of warning coursing through your system. You would have backed up if you could have gathered your wits, but you were too much of an uncomfortable mess to be much use.

"Will you be requiring any assistance, my lady?" He asked, voice smooth as velvet in your ear.

You immediately flushed beet red and, for the first time since the previous night, you truly stood up for yourself.

"_No!"_ You snapped, squirming away and toward the other side of the bed to push yourself onto wobbly feet. Your mouth went dry in embarrassment, cheeks flushing. "Get out!"

The butler's signature smile morphed into more of a smirk. He found himself pleased with your show of personality. It was enjoyable to see you show a sense of personality, even more so when you pretended as if you could resist him.

"As you wish," you could have sworn that Sebastian's eyes showcased a hint of bright red before he bowed his head and retreated back into the hallway, shutting the door behind him

You breathed heavily, shoulders rising and falling in sync. You were tense with frustration, face a bright, rosy red. You weren't sure if it had been the butler's intent to rattle you so, but he had certainly succeeded. The look he had in his eyes when you had caught him looking at you, was indistinguishable and disconcerting.

It was as if he was hungry.

You shuddered, goosebumps prickling your arms. This wasn't the time to let yourself get too distracted. You had much more important things going on. You had to find a way to get started on figuring out the way back home. You had to establish yourself in this world just enough to maneuver your way through it.

But, first..

You needed to figure out how to both shimmy into a proper Victorian-Era dress and find your way downstairs through the maze of beautifully confusing hallways.

_This fucking sucks._

"Ah! It's you!"

You were taken aback by the cheerful familiarity of Finny's voice. His eyes had landed on you almost immediately after he entered the room. You had not said a word to the butler after he found you wandering about the halls, lost as a baby lamb. You just followed him silently, consumed by embarrassment after his earlier actions, and sat down immediately after entering the dining room. Your efforts in quelling your discomfort by trying to eat had not been particularly successful.

With a grin, Finny bounced over to you, his emerald eyes filled to the brim with genuine delight. Cheeks a rosy pink, he seemed unable to completely reel back his overflowing energy. "I'm sure glad you're alright!" The gardener's persona was that of the flowers he grew: colorful and cheery. "I was worried about you!"

Though you didn't understand why Finny seemed so genuinely happy to see you, you couldn't deny that iit warmed your heart, making you feel fond of him. It was comforting to feel as if you had a friend of some sort.

"Were you?" You asked, forcing a polite smile to your lips. As much as you appreciated his concern and friendliness, you could feel all other eyes in the room trained on you. It was uncomfortable. "Sorry. I'm good, though."

"You seemed pretty frazzled," Finny continued. "I do hope you're not ill! What happened to you?"

You parted your lips slightly but didn't respond. You weren't exactly itching to tell another person you were from the future. There was a heavy tension in the room that the gardener didn't notice. The weight of everybody else's gazes caused you to freeze up, words jumbling together in your head to prevent you from saying a single word.

"Finny," Sebastian's voice was icy, cutting through the tension with ease. "Is it not rude to invade a guest's privacy so?"

For the first time, you were grateful towards the butler for saving you the embarrassment of trying to procure a sensible answer.

"Ah!" Finny gasped, his voice rising another octave as he took a few steps back. "I do apologize, Miss!" He stopped next to the other two you had not yet been introduced to, cheeks red. "I was simply curious, is all."

You were about to reassure the boy, but Sebastian spoke again before you could even start to open your mouth.

"Now, listen well," he raised his voice slightly, a strict frown settling on his narrow face. "This is Lady (first name) (last name). She will be staying at the estate for the time being as a business associate of the young master. I expect the three of you to treat her with respect as you would any other guest."

You stood still, uncomfortable with the attention that was being bestowed upon you. You felt similarly to how you would when your relatives would sing Happy Birthday to you: glad for the recognition, but more so waiting for it to be over. Being in the spotlight had never quite been your strong suit, and it especially wasn't under these circumstances.

"A guest!" A taller man with short, dirty blonde hair and an unlit cigarette sticking out from his mouth grinned at you. His eyes held a sparkle of mischievousness as he regarded you with excitement. He wore a white chef's uniform, but he didn't at all look organized enough to you to be a chef. His voice was deep and gravely and, coupled with his slightly disheveled appearance, made him seem a little rough around the edges. Despite this, however, he had a genuinely kind air about him. "We haven't had a guest stay here in a while, especially not a pretty lady like yourself!"

You felt your cheeks burn at his words, more out of embarrassment than anything else. Luckily, he saved you the embarrassment of coming up with a response by talking more. "I'm Bard, the chef here at the estate," he introduced himself. "Welcome to the manor, Lady (last name)!"

Next to him, a red-headed lady with large, round glasses smiled up at you. One of the lenses had a considerable crack running through it, and you found yourself slightly worried about her eyesight. "Oh, it will be nice to have another lady around, yes it will!" She gushed, clasping her hands together in front of her blue dress, topped with a crisp, white apron. Her sleeves had white cuffs buttoned at her wrist, the sleeves rather tight and constricting. You wondered how she could move around well enough to do anything in a dress like that.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, my Lady," she bowed her head toward you. "I'm Mey-Rin, the housekeeper. I do hope that you enjoy your stay here, yes I do."

You nodded at the three of them, a strained smile upon your lips. "It's nice to meet all of you. I hope we'll get along."

"Bard," Sebastian's voice was stony as he regarded the chef immediately after your short introduction. "Have you been preparing for tonight's dinner?"

The cook looked to the side sheepishly, pursing his lips around the cigarette in his mouth.

"Mey-Rin," the butler continued. "Are you keeping up with the laundry? And Finny, have you even started weeding the gardens?"

The two both widened their eyes, cheeks reddening. The three of them stood in a line like the three musketeers; if the three musketeers were a group of servants who seemed to be in constant need of a reminder to do their jobs.

Sebastian gritted his teeth. "If you have time to be fooling around, go do your jobs!"

Bard, Mey-Rin, and Finny responded with a chorus of affirmations, scrambling out of the dining room amidst loud and rushed apologies. You pressed your lips together, the silence of the dining room ringing in your ears as a result of their absence.

Ciel sighed, catching your attention. "Speaking of jobs, I've received a call from Sir Clause out of Italy," he stood up. "We've talked about this already, Sebastian."

Sebastian nodded from the side, a smirk in place of his usual, polite smile. Ciel looked over at you, immediately capturing your gaze with his.

Every time you made eye contact with him, it was as if he locked you in place, rendering you unable to look away from him.

"This will be your first official task, (first name). Follow me."

Your head was immediately filled with unease over the implications of his words, but you hid it with a nod and stood up as well, following the earl towards his study. As you followed him out of the grand dining room and up the kitchen, you struggled to move around comfortably, the thick fabric of your dress constricting.

"Sir Clause was in charge of a certain branch of my company in India," Ciel began to speak again, catching your attention. "I have found out that he took the liberty to sell said branch without my permission or knowledge. He is coming by today with the intention of smuggling money out of me, no doubt."

You furrowed your eyebrows.

_How rotten._

"What are you going to do?" You asked simply, holding your dress up so you wouldn't step on it as you continued up the last few stairs.

"I will humour him," the Earl responded. "I cannot help being interested in how he thought himself capable to achieve something like this without my knowledge. We are to carry out negotiations here today. I want you to be present."

Your eyes widened, trained on Ciel as he stood in front of the door to his study, waiting for Sebastian to open it for him. The idea of being a part of business negotiations with your current lack of information was disconcerting.

Sebastian closed the door behind you, leaving you and Ciel the only ones in the study. You were too flustered to really notice that this was the first time that you were alone with him. You were still completely uncomfortable around Ciel, and you didn't at all know him well enough to be able to understand how your presence would benefit him today. What did your obscure knowledge of the future have to do with a slimy Italian con-artist?

"What- Why?" You stood in front of his desk, watching as he calmly rounded the corner to take a seat. "How am I going to be helpful?"

The Earl looked up at you with his singular, piercing eye. "You likely won't," he said simply, only furthering your chagrin. "You're rather skittish. I fail to see how you're going to be especially helpful in the future, so I believe it would be in your best interest to get used to partaking in things that push you past what you are comfortable with. It seems to me that the twenty-first century is rather coddling."

Your face burned, turning red. While you were somewhat agitated with his forwardness, you were more embarrassed that he had hit the nail on the head so easily. He watched your reaction carefully, only making you feel more like you were feeding into his seemingly low opinion of you.

You weren't normally like this, especially not back home. But this also wasn't an everyday situation for you. You weren't sure what it was that he expected of you; you had only been here for a night.

_Does he seriously think _I'm _the coddled one?_

"I mean, I guess I can understand that much," you relented, though your face was still slightly flushed. "What do you want me to do?"

Ciel smirked, clearly pleased with himself. "Nothing too taxing. Simply sit in and partake in the conversation."

At his words, a sense of clarity fell over you. Your previous confusions had been washed away as you came to a realization.

This was a test. After all, what was the point of keeping you around if you proved no use? As much as you truly didn't want to be here, what choice did you really have? If what Ciel had told you was true, then staying here and working with him really was your best chance at getting home. You couldn't let yourself waste the opportunity.

Your circumstances were unfavorable, yes, but they could be a lot worse. You needed to work with what you had.

You looked down at the Earl for a while, your face losing its confused expression and settling into one of understanding.

"Yeah, I think I get it," you nodded. "Okay. I will."

"Good," Ciel leaned back in his chair. "He is arriving at six o'clock. I'd suggest you go prepare yourself."

You just nodded, saying nothing more as you turned around, letting yourself out of the study. You closed the door and stood still for a moment, lost in thought. You had no idea what to expect from six onwards, and even less of a clue as to what role you were supposed to play. Once again, you felt the pressures of being surrounded by a culture and time both unfamiliar and intimidating to you.

You didn't know why, but something about the way that Ciel had looked at you made you feel as if you couldn't let him down. His attempt at testing you left you wanting to prove yourself. You didn't want to lose the chance to get back to the future as soon as possible.

_Like it or not,_ you found yourself thinking,_ this is the way things are gonna be._

You had been sitting in a library for some time now.

After your exchange with Ciel, you tried to find your way back to your bedroom, only to open the wrong door into a treasure that you didn't know existed. There wasn't exactly much to do in the manor. You didn't have your phone or any personal belongings. There wasn't anywhere for you to go. But upon coming across the manor's expansive library, you found yourself somewhat comforted. It would take you countless years to get through the expansive selection, and it was pleasing to know that there was something that you could do to keep your wits about you.

If you had to sit around doing nothing all day, you might have gone insane.

The aesthetics of the library matched that of the rest of the manor: dark wood, polished surfaces, and a thick silence. In this room, however, it brought you solace and soothed your soul ever so slightly.

You had been browsing through the selections, afraid to touch the books. Though you knew that they were in good condition, any books from this time were falling apart in 2019. Their gold-laced spines and leather covers were symbols of a time long before yours, delicate and beautiful. The titles were all classics, a few novels among a large number of books on subjects like business and economics. Before you could come around to pick a single book to look closer at, however, there was a knock upon the door.

"Lady (last name)?" Sebastian's voice brought you out of your newfound peace. You turned to meet his eyes, not saying anything. "I see you have found the master's library. You may look through it at a later time. Our guest is to arrive shortly. If you would follow me, please."

Your heart sank. You would have to go back some other time.

_Here we go._

"Okay."

You were not expecting the change in the garden outside. The rainbow of beautiful flowers that you had seen upon your arrival were all gone. In their place was a Japanese zen garden, beautifully sculpted. The small rocks were a sandy white, so densely placed that they blended into one another seamlessly. They curled and curved around larger stones with elegance, accommodating beautiful purple flowers here and there to give a pop of colour. The garden invoked a sense of peace from you even despite your confusion about where exactly it had come from.

Before you could stop yourself, your lips parted, eyes widening at the sight.

"Woah," you breathed. "Where did this come from?"

Sebastian looked down at you before emitting a small sigh. "The servants are rather bad at their jobs, and I am the one to clean up their messes. Finny destroyed the garden and left me only forty minutes to try and make the estate presentable. I am afraid that this will have to do."

"Are you kidding me?" You stared up at him, awe-struck. "Only forty minutes? This is amazing. At the very least, I'm sure a Japanese garden in England is pretty rare."

The butler gave you another one of his signature, polite smiles.

"Thank you. As a Phantomhive butler, this is the least that I should be able to do."

You were led to stand by Bard, Mey-Rin, and Finny by the front door. It was a beautiful day. The late-afternoon sunlight fell over you like a blanket, reflecting off of the tiny stones within the rock garden. The three servants were chattering amongst themselves about the accomplishment that was now the manor's gardens. You were allowed just a moment where you could stand peacefully, looking out at the landscape around you.

It truly was beautiful. If only you were looking at it under different circumstances, you might have been ignorant of the darkness that hid beneath the surface.

The distant sound of hooves captured your attention, and you looked up in time to notice a carriage being pulled by two horses. While the sight was strange to you, you also found yourself enamored by the beauty of the horses and the sleek carriage that they led. This was definitely something that you weren't used to seeing.

As someone who came from a world of machinery, cars, steel, and deforestation, you were astonished by the beauty and purity of the world and the air around you. There was no pollution out here, and nature grew as it pleased beyond the borders of the forest. It was a wonderful sight, and it brought you some semblance of peace.

The carriage came to a stop at the foot of the gardens. Sebastian approached the door and opened it, allowing a man to step out.

He was a large man, tall and imposing, but held a seemingly friendly face. His clothes were tailored to fit perfectly, an almost comical top hat resting upon his head, adding several extra inches to his height. The entire sight was foreign to you, and a block of lead began to form in your stomach as you realized that you truly were in a different time.

The man looked about the gardens with wide eyes, a look of amazement crossing his face. You couldn't say that you blamed him, the zen gardens were both an extension of the manor itself with stones and a beautiful contrast with the lightly purpled flowers. It was a sight to behold, you knew that much. You could remember feeling and acting similarly when you had first arrived. The three servants next to you all bowed in unison and you scrambled to follow, having not at all been briefed on how you were supposed to behave.

"This is marvelous!" The man exclaimed, his thick Italian accent bouncing about the vicinity. "It truly is. The grandeur of the Phantomhive Estate never ceased to amaze me!"

You almost snorted. His exaggerated kindness was _rich._

"Not at all," you heard Sebastian respond as he bowed his head, hand atop his chest. "If we could not keep the master's manor presentable, we would not be worthy of being Phantomhive servants."

You and the three servants by you said nothing as Sebastian led Clause up to the stairways, listening to the Italian man's ramblings. You found his voice extensively annoying somehow, as if it was just slightly too loud, causing your head to throb with his every exclamation of forced astonishment.

"Sir Clause, if you would," Sebastian stopped by you and the Italian man followed suit, his thin eyes landing upon you almost immediately. His gaze was demeaning as it rested on you, taking in your form with disturbing precision. "This is Lady (first name) (last name), a business associate of our young master. She visits from North America, and will be joining in the negotiations today."

You flashed a polite, thin-lipped smile in greeting.

Clause guffawed. "Surely, you jest!" His declaration irked you, but you said nothing. "A woman conducting business? Such a thing is unheard of!"

Your stomach twisted with frustration. It wasn't like you _wanted_ to be doing this. You found it within you to speak up, looking at the Italian man with a deadpan expression.

"Maybe so. I assure you, however, I am capable of much more than you're giving me credit for."

Clause simply smiled, shaking his head as he entered the manor through the door that Sebastian was holding open for him. "I'm sure you believe so, My Lady. If it would make you happy to be humoured, then I am glad to do so."

Your hands clenched into fists at your side.

You weren't sure what it is that you expected of Victorian Era business negotiations. You had never really been in a corporate position, especially as a full-time student, so you'd never had any experience in these sorts of meetings, even back home. But, as you sat at the small table with Ciel and Clause, you realized that none of those would have prepared you for this, anyways.

As it turned out, the young Earl you were working for was full of surprises, one of which was the rather morbid board game that you were watching the two play.

"As I was saying," Clause's thick accent caught your attention. "I really do believe that it would be most beneficial to begin expanding-"

"Go on, it's your turn," the Earl interrupted Clause as if he had not heard him speak. You pressed your lips together to hide the shadow of a smile as Clause's facade briefly wavered. It was much more interesting to watch Ciel act bratty when it wasn't directed towards you.

You quickly regained your composure when the Earl sent you a stern glance.

"Ah, yes, of course," Clause was unaware of the silent conversation between the two of you. Though he was clearly put off, the Italian man grabbed the spinner and gave it a whirl, watching as it slowed down and fell over, showcasing the number five.

You found yourself wondering if dice weren't good enough for rich people, but chose to keep your mouth shut.

"Alright, five spaces," Clause took his figurine and moved it, landing on a rather disturbing square which depicted a man whose legs had been cut off by a scythe. He paid it no mind, however, and got right back to his spiel. "And, as I was saying, I believe it would be most beneficial to us both if you were to contribute another twelve thousand pounds to support our expansion? It will be quite a profitable venture for you, my lord. Furthermore, I would be most honoured to help the Funtom Compa-"

"Lose a leg in the enchanted forest. It's your turn again. I lost a turn, remember?"

Ciel, once again, looked completely unfazed by Clause's clear frustration at being interrupted another time. You could see something within the blue eye of the Earl, and though you were annoyed with Clause you found yourself in a similar position to him. You were completely out of the loop. The only real difference was that you were aware of it and that you weren't on the receiving end of Ciel's agitation.

You really didn't want to be on his bad side.

"Oh, alright," Clause's voice was slightly rigid as he spun the spinner again, after which he reached for his figurine once more. "I move six."

"You don't," Ciel interjected, looking up at the man with a frown. "That's three. If you'll recall, you lost a leg. Now you only move half the number of spaces."

"Oh, my," Clause let out a nervous laugh but proceeded to move his figurine three spaces. "This is quite the morbid game. Can I not restore my leg, then?"

Ciel's jaw tightened and he lowered his head ever so slightly, frown deepening. "I'm afraid once something is truly lost, one can never get it back."

You didn't say anything. His voice was deeper than usual, and his words made him sound like someone who had been alive for far too long. You didn't know a thing about Ciel, but you were willing to wager that he had suffered a painful past. That alone was enough to cause you to consider being a bit easier on him.

Ciel glanced over at the space that Clause's figurine had landed on. It showcased a man surrounded by bright red flames that curled around his body, leaving no more than a faint outline to be seen. "Your body is burned by raging flames."

You were glad you had decided not to play. This game was a bit too symbolic for you at the moment.

There was a small knock at the door and Sebastian opened it just enough to peek in with a smile. "Pardon the interruption, but dinner is prepared. If you would, please follow me out to the garden."

As Ciel stood up, Clause sent a nasty glare up at him. "Damned brat," he hissed, voice sharp. The forwardness of his aggression took you by surprise and you raised your eyebrows at him, saying nothing.

Ciel stopped in his tracks and turned his head, his eye locking on the Italian con-man. "Sorry?" His voice was full of warning: what was phrased as a question was really a chance for Clause to redeem himself. And he noticed this immediately.

"Ah- I only meant that sometimes it takes the mind of a child to see what's truly important!" He attempted to rectify himself, raising his hands up in the air. It was like he was trying to defend himself from Ciel's gaze. The entire sight was contradicting to you. How could a man act so afraid of someone when he really didn't hold a shred of respect for the same person?

Ciel seemed satisfied, however, as the corners of his lips curled up into a victorious smirk. You could tell that he had something planned, but you were damned if you knew what. He was throwing you into this blind, and you were sure that he was doing it on purpose. You continued to look at him, the gears in your mind turning as you tried unsuccessfully to figure him out. He seemed to notice, locking eyes with you once again.

"Come, (first name)," he ordered, before turning and continuing out of the study. You wasted no time in getting up, not saying a word as you smoothed your skirts quickly, following the Earl into the hallway.

The air was more than a little bit awkward as the three of you followed Sebastian, not saying a word. You had been silent the entire time without an issue, but even you found yourself wanting to say something to break the obvious tension in the air.

"Ah, my Lord, I did mean to ask you something," Clause finally spoke, his thick accent filling the gaps in the silence. "I do not mean to pry, but why is it that you have a woman as a business associate? I did not peg you as a particularly progressive person."

Your lips thinned in distaste and before you could stop yourself, you were speaking.

"You don't have to speak like I'm not here," you looked over at the man. "It's pretty interesting how quickly you were able to cover your tracks by preaching about the importance of a child's perspective after letting your mouth run. Can the same not be said for a woman?"

Clause gave you a wide, yet somehow demeaning smile. "I am only saying that it is not customary, my Lady. It should be your husband here, not you yourself."

Your stomach twisted in annoyance, frustration curling around your mind. "I don't need a husband," you shot him down, sending a glare in his direction. "I'm more than qualified on my own."

Ciel, who had glanced back at the beginning of the exchange, turned his gaze onto Clause. "At any rate, I would not work so closely with someone who was not competent."

His words were hardly a compliment. They instantly reminded you of your position. If you couldn't somehow prove your worth to the Earl, it was unlikely that you would be staying here for much longer. And you desperately needed the advantage that Ciel's connections and work would supposedly give you.

"Ah, yes, of course," Clause nodded. He spared you another glance before going quiet once more.

The sun was almost finished setting behind the horizon, leaving the sky dark blue. The last of the daylight was fading away, leaving a slight chill to the air that nipped at your cheeks.

The garden was illuminated by large lanterns set up tastefully, each emitting a soft, golden glow.

In front of you, in an intricately painted bowl was layers of raw beef, on top of which a small pile of vegetables lay. Having grown up around chemically processed meat, looking at it made you nervous.

"A pile of raw beef?" Clause voiced your thoughts. "This is dinner?"

"Yes," Sebastian confirmed, voice smooth. "But surely, you've heard of donburi? It is a most important Japanese traditional dish offered with gratitude to those who have accomplished great work. That, good sir, is donburi!"

You found yourself somewhat taken aback at Sebastian's enthusiasm. You were used to him being composed and straight-faced. It was off-putting, to say the least.

You prodded at the raw meat with your chopsticks, stomach turning. The texture of the meat was strange; you were used to eating cooked meat in a world of GMOs and chemical processing. The meat wasn't slimy, hinting at a high quality, but you were still hesitant to try it. At the sight of Ciel and Clause eating it, however, you took a small slice and carefully put it in your mouth.

It wasn't the worst. But you would never be completely on board with eating raw meat. You felt slightly queasy, but tried to ignore it.

In your internal conflict about the donburi, you had failed to notice Mey-Rin approaching Clause's glass, holding a bottle of wine. You had also gone unaware of her complete lack of depth perception, which led to her dumping the dark red liquid onto the perfectly white tablecloth.

It went without saying that you were more than a little surprised when the tablecloth underneath your plates began to draw back. It was like something in a magic show. The tablecloth did not at all even rattle the glassware and plants atop it as it silently slid back to reveal the beautiful dark wood of the table.

A silence filled the air.

You looked over just in time to see Ciel's face, contorted into worry, relax back into one of composure. Sebastian stood behind him, arms up with the tablecloth flowing out towards him. It was a beautiful contrast to his very being. The butler was dark colours and harsh demeanor, strict and imposing. The pure white tablecloth was a contradiction, and you found yourself captivated.

There was something supernatural about Sebastian. The more you were around him, the more you witnessed him capable of things that nobody else could ever do. He did everything with perfection and elegance, even if his existence seemed to be one of darkness and mystique.

The butler's blood-red eyes met yours, and you couldn't look away.

"Oh, my," Clause stopped eating, staring at the table with astonishment. His exclamation reclaimed your attention from Sebastian. "Where has the tablecloth gone?"

"A speck of dirt," Ciel responded immediately, lifting his glass to his lips, "most unsightly. Please continue to enjoy the meal at your leisure."

Clause let out a laugh, still holding his bowl and chopsticks in hand. "My, what an able butler you have, Lord Phantomhive!"

Ciel places his glass back down, not even sparing Sebastian a glance. "He merely acted as was befitting of one of my servants."

"The Young Master is quite right," Sebastian bowed his head, the tablecloth folded over his arm. "If I was not capable of this much, then I would not be worth my salt." He looked back up and, in the darkness of night, you could have sworn his eyes were beginning to glow.

"You see, I am simply one hell of a butler."

Your heart was thumping in your chest, and you didn't quite know why. Why was it that Sebastian made you feel so uneasy?

"That was a truly splendid meal, my lord," Clause sat back down in his chair, a satisfied glint in his eyes. The food seemed to have done him well. There was something extremely gluttonous about him that uneased you. "Now, if we could discuss the contract-"

Ciel, as seemed to be his habit of the night, did not let the Italian man finish his sentence. "We have yet to finish the game."

"Yes, I see." Clause's face fell. He didn't seem to want to hide that he was frustrated with the young Earl. "I do have a pressing appointment, however. Perhaps another time-"

"Children really can be demanding about their games. You wouldn't want me to get upset?" Ciel looked straight at Clause. He spoke as if there was a double meaning to his words, and you were aware that there was.

The entire night, he had been alluding to his knowledge of Clause's selling of part of the company. However, the culprit never seemed to catch on.

_For someone so confident, he really is stupid._

"Of course not," Clause relented, but his voice was tight as if he was holding himself back from saying something. "In that case, if you would permit me to use your telephone, I will cancel my appointment and return shortly."

Without so much as waiting for a response, he stood back up. It was clear that he was frustrated, but trying to cover up. In a way, you couldn't blame him. He was sitting in the lion's den and didn't even know it. He had been figured out, and Ciel was simply toying with him. You didn't at all understand what the Earl had planned for him, or what your part in it was. You felt like you were just sitting awkwardly, not contributing anything to the conversation.

But what did they expect if they weren't going to let you in on the plan?

Immediately after Clause left, Sebastian rapped at the door once again. "Young Master, Miss (first name), I have brought your tea."

He walked in, wheeling with him a cart atop of which were teacups, saucers, and a pot with steam emitting from the spout. You were constantly surprised at the amount of tea that they had been drinking. It was proving the British stereotypes from twenty nineteen true. Sebastian poured Ciel a cup and handed the saucer to his master, who held it up, inspecting the tea within with a frown.

"What is this?" He asked, frowning up at his butler.

Sebastian adorned a slightly conflicted gaze. "In consideration of our guest, I have picked an Italian blend. However, the Italians drink much more coffee than they do tea, so finding a high-quality selection proved difficult. Is it not to your liking?"

Ciel glared down at the cup.

"No, I don't like it at all," he said roughly, handing the saucer back to his butler.

"I see," Sebastian glanced down at the tea, but put it back into the cart nonetheless. You sat quietly as the butler's face seemed to harden somewhat. "Then, I will make the preparation for dessert."

"Yes," Ciel looked up at his butler. "Be sure to show our guest the fullest extent of the Phantomhive hospitality."

A smirk curled Sebastian's lips, giving him the guise of a person with a trick up his sleeve. "Yes, my lord," he bowed his head deeply, silky strands of black hair hanging down. When his head came back up, he seemed to have taken on a completely different persona. The air around him was filled with an almost tangible darkness, radiating out from the man with malicious intents.

You unconsciously pushed yourself back into your chair, looking down at your hands. There was something about the butler's actions that made you feel on guard as if you weren't completely safe.

Luckily for you, Sebastian wheeled the cart back out of the room without another word, letting the doors shut with a soft click. You were suddenly aware that you were alone with the Earl in his study once more. The atmosphere caused your heart to drop, filling you with intimidation. There was something about the blue-eyed boy that put you on edge, just like with his butler. But, as always, you were completely unable to explain what it was.

You found yourself almost squirming in your seat as the seconds ticked by, furthering the uncomfortable silence within the room.

"Sorry, but that Italian guy's an idiot." Your voice surprised even yourself. Apparently your filter had taken a small break. Your face reddened ever so slightly.

"Indeed," Ciel sighed, leaning back in his chair. He looked over at the unfinished board game, scanning it with his blue eye. "It rather exhausts me to listen to him try to haggle more money out of me."

You fiddled with your sleeves, trying to settle into the conversation. "He's stupid enough to have not caught on yet. It seems to me that you've been hinting at it this whole time. He's screwed and he doesn't even know it.

The boy looked back up at you. "_Screwed,_ you say? Your language truly is odd. Has the world changed so much in just over one hundred years?"

You paused for a moment. "Well, it's not like I've really seen much of society except for being here, but in my experience? Yeah, it's a lot different. In almost every way. A lot of changes are happening all at once, and they still are. I can hardly keep up with it myself."

Ciel hummed in response but didn't say anything else. There was something unidentifiable in his gaze as he looked at you. Even with just one eye, he was domineering in every sense of the word. You felt like he was looking straight into you and reading every one of your thoughts. Whatever was in his gaze rooted you in place. It made you feel frozen, and you had no idea why.

"Um," you cleared your throat, "you kept on mentioning to Sebastian something about Phantomhive hospitality? What does that mean?"

At your question, the Earl smirked lightly.

"The Phantomhives are known for their hospitality towards guests," was his answer. "As for what that means in regards to Sir Clause, you will have to see for yourself."

His answer was as cryptic as it was unhelpful. You had only asked the question to break his unwavering staring, but you were hoping that you would have gained a bit more information regardless. You were worried about your status as an informant. If you were deemed useless, you would be thrown out to the wolves.

As if reading your thoughts, however, Ciel spoke again. "You have done your part for the night. We will leave the rest to Sebastian."

This piqued your interest. You frowned at the Earl, confusion evident. "How so? What will he do?"

A sense of sick enjoyment filled his azure eye as it trained itself on you again. Something changed in the air around him. It filled with iniquity, spreading out into the room that you were in. You squirmed a little bit in your seat, grip on your sleeves tightening as your stomach twisted, heart leaping into your throat.

There was something _wrong_ about the person sitting in front of you. Whatever it was that he was keeping from you gave him a twisted arrogance, and that scared you. You felt like you were rooted in place like if you made one wrong move, your life as you knew it would be over. You were walking on eggshells, surrounded by a master and his butler that not only lived in darkness but manipulated it for their own good.

Before anything else could be said, a guttural, blood-curdling scream erupted from outside, heard even from your place in the study upstairs. You shot up immediately, your heart shooting into a fast-paced beating that impaired your ability to breathe well.

Still sitting in front of you, Ciel was not fazed at all. Instead, he seemed to be reveling in the sound, smirk only growing in size. You stood completely still, frozen in place as panic began to course through your system once again, coming back with a vengeance.

The scream from outside came to a slow halt before the same voice shrieked once more.

"_Mamma mia!"_

Ciel burst out laughing, for the first time since you had met him. You were deeply disturbed, watching with a face twisted in horror. Why in the world was he _laughing?_ Distressed, you said nothing, eyes trained on the boy in front of you.

"What an unattractive scream," he mused, laughing coming to a slow halt. "He sounds like a gutted animal."

Ciel's smirk faded as he looked back down at the board, not at all taking notice of your perturbed state. "What a joke. First, he sells the East Indian factory without telling me. Then, he dares to try to smuggle more money out of me?"

"That- That was Sir Clause?" Your voice was akin to a whisper, filled to the brim with horror. "What did you _do _to him?"

Finally, the Earl took notice of you once more, his blue eye flickering up to meet yours. "I did nothing," he said simply. "I had Sebastian show him the extent of our hospitality, that is all."

_Hospitality._

The word had such an intense double meaning to it. You had no idea what had gone on in the manor that night, and you were beginning to think that you were better off not knowing. What had you stumbled into so carelessly? The polished wood and glittering gold was a facade, as was every single person within the manor. You were the only thing that didn't belong, yet you felt stuck here as if something had slithered out and wrapped itself around your ankles tightly.

It was as if, when going back in time, you had fallen through a loophole into a world of deceit and manipulation. Every answer was a farce to cover a deeper truth which you would never obtain.

But could you really leave?

This place was the only chance that you had. These people, twisted as they were, seemed keen on keeping you around. That much was clear at the Earl's insistence of your accepting his offer the day before.

You tried to swallow your fear. All that you had to do was keep quiet and turn your head the other way, for just long enough to figure out what you needed to do to get back home.

Ciel had been staring at you silently during your internal dilemma, eyebrows narrowed as he witnessed the conflict swimming about your being.

You were an anomaly.

"You've done well, (first name)," his voice seemed far away to you, still stuck in your head. "You may retire for the night."

You didn't bother to meet his gaze, only nodding. Your mouth was dry and your eyebrows had been furrowed for so long that you began to feel a headache prodding at you. Without another word, you moved towards the door like a robot and let yourself out, shutting the door behind you.

And as you faced the darkness of the hallways, a silence settled over you once more.

* * *

This turned out to be SO long, and I'm sorry for that! It was important to fit this all into one chapter. I know it doesn't all seem significant but most everything that happened in this chapter really is. I'm trying to keep this realistic but entertaining at the same time.

A few things to note: I'm sorry that this took so long to get up. I just finished it as I sit here, about to publish this. I had an unfortunate, sudden death of someone who was very close to me a few days ago. I'm writing to keep myself sane so I truly hope that it's at the same standard as my usual writing. I also have a heart condition at the moment, and I had a rather bad episode over the weekend that kept me bed-ridden for a few days. Coupled with college and work, I've been super busy. So I hope that this is all still alright, despite its length. It really is more of a filler chapter, to be honest.

Things are really going to start heating up in the next chapter. So please stay tuned! Let me know what you think. Your reviews are so motivating and wonderful to read.

Thank you to everyone for their encouraging words, and for reading this chapter! I hope all is well with you guys.

Now, off to work for me :(


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